TUNES

SIXTEEN: MISSING!

At the old garage that afternoon, Nemus was addressing his men when Regina walked in, tossing a newspaper to his leg.

He picked it up, looking at her strangely. 
"What's this?"

"A report from earlier. A vampire was eaten at the park last night."

He looked at the article and the picture attached to it and smirked. 
"How are you so sure it's a vampire?"

"I was there when the body was taken, and based on the bite marks on her skin, I think she was eaten by a vampire."

Hearing this, Nemus stood up, his eyes glued to the picture on the paper. 
"How is this possible? A vampire can't eat another vampire." Then he put the paper down, smiling. "Or else..."

Regina looked at him curiously, wondering what was going on in his head. She impatiently asked, 
"What is it, my love?"

"Among the three vampire clans, only one is capable of this monstrosity."

Her eyes widened upon hearing this. Shaken with fear, she asked in a trembling voice, 
"Does that mean...?"

Before she could finish her thought, Nemus replied, 
"Yes, Tarrus is in town."

...

It was all over the news. Everyone was talking about it when I got out of class and walked toward the locker room. The students were glued to their phones, watching the breaking news, unable to look away.

"What's happening? They look like zombies."

"Haven't you heard the news?" Zack, who was walking beside me, asked. I turned to look at him, having no idea what he was talking about.

"What news?"

"Charles' body is missing!" he broke out. "It's all over the net."

"Wow, that's huge. What happened?"

"We don't know yet. They're still trying to figure out what happened."

We reached our lockers, where we dropped off our books. We grabbed our history texts and headed to the next class.

In class, I sat down with Zack.

Everyone was talking about the news, which made the class so rowdy.

Seeing how rowdy everyone was, I whispered to Zack, hardly hearing myself. 
"This is a catastrophe. What's the big deal?"

"Caveroop Hospital is one of the oldest and most secure hospitals in this town. They're all just shocked because someone probably stole his body, and nothing was detected."

"That's not possible."

"I know, but it can be... with magic."

Then we stopped what we were doing and turned to face each other.

"Raymond!"

...

After class, Zack and I hurried to the clinic. When we arrived, we saw Rejoice sitting on the stool in front of his desk. Eska and Summer were already there.

"See who joined the party," Eska snickered.

We both entered, closing the door behind us. 
"Where's Raymond?"

"Why are you looking for him? Are you ill?" Rejoice asked.

"Charles' body is missing," Zack chimed in.

"And you assumed he has something to do with it?" She sounded a bit hurt and annoyed.

"Frankly, we're not the only ones," I gestured to Eska and Summer standing opposite her.

"He was at school when the incident happened. Have any of you thought about that?"

Why is she taking his side?

"Who knows what Raymond is up to these days?" Eska sneered, sitting on a sick bay cot.

"I think he must have hidden the body so the cause of death wouldn't be traced to his wand," Summer pointed out, which was a good point. But I didn't think magic could be traced. Could it?

Well, it's a crazy town, and they know how it's done.

"Where the hell is Raymond, hiding under his table?" Zack asked, and Rejoice sighed, dropping her gaze.

"He was called upon by Mrs. Adams."

We stared at each other. What's going on? The energy in the air felt weak. I could sense the negativity in the atmosphere. That's when my eyes began to twitch.

Oh no, not now!

I tried to take control, but to no avail. So, I quietly turned, without them noticing, and reached for the doorknob. That's when I collapsed to the floor.

"Gosh! Terra, are you okay?" Zack ran to my aid, alerting everyone. They gathered around to see if I was alright, but that was when I lost consciousness.

I saw Charles' body lying on a lab bench. An old man was with him, holding a notebook and a pen. He wore a long white lab coat and had short, graying hair.

I looked around to get a glimpse of where I was. The place looked old and tacky. On one desk was a lot of chemicals, and on the other was a long, narrow stick.

Seeing it, I gasped. Then he turned and saw me. Our eyes locked. He reached for the stick.

"You're not supposed to be here."

Then he waved it, speaking in a language I could not understand. That's when I woke up, panting heavily, almost falling off the bay I was lying on.

Zack and Summer supported me so I wouldn't fall.

I looked around. I was back at the clinic.

"Oh my God! What happened, Terra? We thought we'd lost you!" Summer said, giving me a warm hug.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked. Then I stared at Rejoice, who looked back at me. I was scared. The fear in my eyes was visible. Then I broke out.

"Raymond is innocent!"